Major Awards:

Entertainment Reviews:

Total Film - 06/01/20133 stars out of 5 -- "[S]umptuous....[It's] about a matchmaking widow who can find a soulmate for everyone except herself..."

Product Description:

In early-20th-century Yonkers, a wealthy local merchant, Horace Vandergelder (played by Walter Matthau), hires matchmaker Dolly Levi (Barbra Streisand) to find a mate for him--but instead she decides to win him over for herself. His life is further complicated by his young niece, Ermengarde, who is determined to wed an artist Horace finds entirely unsuitable, and by his two hapless employees, who against Horace's wishes leave work to venture into New York so each can kiss a girl. Miserly, curmudgeonly, irascible Horace finds that matters have gotten completely out of his control--and the only person who seems to know exactly what is going on is the widowed Dolly Levi. The film is based on a succession of source material, beginning with the 1835 British play A DAY WELL SPENT by John Oxenford, Thornton Wilder's 1938 play THE MERCHANT OF YONKERS, and Wilder's successful 1954 adaptation of his own play, renamed THE MATCHMAKER, rewritten for Ruth Gordon and then made into a film by the same name in 1958 starring Shirley Booth. In 1964, Carol Channing starred in the story's next incarnation on Broadway: Michael Stewart's play HELLO, DOLLY! on which this film's screenplay is directly based.

Plot Synopsis:

Barbra Streisand directed by Gene Kelly with a popular Jerry Herman score--this film is one of the last big, splashy Hollywood musicals. Playing widow Dolly Levi, a matchmaker, Streisand finally finds herself a match. Kelly's last-directed screen musical features a legendary performance by a 27-year-old Barbra Streisand as Dolly Levi, and a delightful cameo by Louis Armstrong as the orchestra leader who leads his band in welcoming Dolly back to the world in the title number. Michael Kidd's leggy, athletic choreography gives the film much of its energy and buoyancy.

Plot Keywords:

Romance |
Theatrical Release

Production Notes:

Filmed on elaborately constructed sets and on location in Garrison, New York, which substituted for Yonkers.

Two new songs appear in the film that did not appear in the 1964 play: "Just Leave Everything to Me," replacing "I Put My Hand In," and "Love Is Only Love, which had been cut from MAME.

More than 3,700 extras were used for the 14th Street parade.

The Broadway musical of HELLO, DOLLY! was produced by David Merrick and staged by Gower Champion from a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. At the time of the film's release, the stage version had already been performed more than 2,400 times.

The film cost $24 million--said to be the highest budget for a musical film at that time--and lost money in its initial theatrical release.

Streisand, hot off of 1969's FUNNY GIRL, beat out several notable actresses for the role, despite her youth; among them were Carol Channing, who starred in the Broadway play, Julie Andrews, and Elizabeth Taylor.

THE MATCHMAKER was adapted for the screen in 1958. Directed by Joseph Anthony, the film starred Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins, Shirley MacLaine, Paul Ford, Robert Morse, and Wallace Ford.